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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Independence Day!

Today in the United States we remember when we signed the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. We basically said, "we can do much more as a people if we are truly independent. We don't need your taxes, and we don't need you lording over us any longer!" While I know a lot of people who bemoan that there is a lot going wrong in the United States, there are a huge amount of people who I know who are very proud on a day like today. You may see them wearing a flag for a shirt, or lighting a field on fire while trying to ignite some fireworks. Others will be picnicking with family, friends, and loved ones. Others will gather by the river, waiting for a show to be put on by their community. Others still will spend this Independence day on Facebook, Twitter, and Facebook2012. To my readers who celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, how will you spend this day? Will you be posting images of fireworks all over your wall, or will you be out with the ones you love making it a day worth living?

I can just imagine what my Facebook wall would look like today if I still had it. I can imagine the stuff my family is putting up on there. I imagine some of it isn't pretty. And some of my friends, probably still fighting over whose body parts are the nicest. I wonder if when the fireworks light the sky tonight if they will be glued to their mobile phones or if they will be actually enjoying the show. I suppose it doesn't matter, but it is something to think about on this Independence Day. No matter where you are from, today is a great day to celebrate your Independence from Facebook. Go and delete that thing and tell your family that you're done. Give your grandparents a call and tell them that instead of poking them, you'll come and visit sometime. Tell your ex-boyfriend that you don't need to stalk him any longer, because you've moved on from all that. Tell your high school friends that if they want to continue to be friends with you in the adult world, your door is always open. When you change jobs or look for a job in the future you won't have to worry about being disqualified because of your profile. When you look back at your life at the end you can be proud of the fact that you stopped wasting your time on (a)social networks. And that pride can start to grow right now.

Celebrate your independence from the one site on the internet that most of the world is becoming so dependent on. Sign your declaration of independence from Facebook and other (a)social networking today.

4 comments:

The other day at work I overheard a conversation amongst coworkers and 1 of them was saying how another co-worker posted on facebook about another's job performance and her complaints, even though she didn't name names. Yikes! Are there repercussions for something like that??

I doubt it, unless a higher up in the company finds out and sees reason to act on it. I think the best thing to do would be to ignore that kind of behavior. That's one thing I never cared much about social networking: people share too much, or say too much. Many people have gotten in trouble over things said on Facebook, and in the professional life, it's a risk that isn't worth whatever kind of 'reward' Facebook provides.